Don't you have to clear General R&D before it will let you move on??? It used to; but then its been soo long since I hit cap it might have changed.

No. There are no longer separate R&D disciplines. You only need to increase you skill in one tree (general). There are separate tabs for different item types (starship components, starship weapons, personal equipment, schematics) but you can craft all from General R&D points. This may change in a future update with skill trees brought back for crafting advanced items.